Clarksville - Bridges and the Iron Furnace

Above is Center Street in Clarksville, looking north, soon after the turn of the century. The photographer has his back to the old covered bridge that spanned the south fork of the creek. The road to the left is Sugar Alley, now the Marianna road. The large lush maple trees line both sides of the dirt street. In the distance can be seen the iron bridge that crosses the north fork. This is my most favorite image of all I have collected. It looks exactly like what one would picture of small town America. Long time residents often described the effect of the trees in summer as " like walking through a tunnel." This is an old undated real photo post card that I purchased about 25 years ago and is a very rare view . This picture is on the cover of Randi Ross Marodi's book The History Of Clarksville Pennsylvania.



This 1930's view shows, in the middle ground, the covered bridge over the south fork. This wooden bridge lasted until it was replaced by the present bridge in 1943. While the covered bridge was being dismantled, it caught fire and burned causing much consternation in town.

According to newspaper clippings saved by longtime resident Stanley Fowler the earlier covered bridge at the same location was destroyed by high water and ice in the severe winter of 1918. The good Mr. Fowler's efforts at preserving photos and information have added much to our knowledge of Clarksville's past and his gift to us deserves notice, not to mention his many years of service to the community. Below is one of Mr.Fowler's pictures, an early image of the older south fork covered bridge, looking south from the square. This image likely dates to soon after the turn of the century and is certainly the bridge that was carried away in the 1918 flood .




Postcard Author's collection


Here is the iron bridge over the north fork and to Washington county, looking northeast. It was built by T. J. Barnard who was a Clarksville resident. The image above was probably made soon after the turn of the century. This iron bridge was dismantled and replaced with the present bridge in 1962. The hill in the background is now occupied by St. Thomas Catholic Church. The buildings that are visible in the distance are unidentified however they may be barns / outbuildings related to the coal mine. Older residents I have spoken to cannot recall anything but hay fields on the east side of the road all the way through Williamstown. Once the coal company came there seem to have never been any other buildings on that side of the road except for the church and the newer Washington Supply company store building. The land to build ( in 1935 ) St. Thomas was donated by the Hillman Coal and Coke Company. An exception also was the relatively modern Paletta discount house whose concrete block foundation still exists near the forks of the creek below St. Thomas Church.



This is from Caldwell's Atlas of 1876. This map implies a ford across the north fork ( at the north end of Center street ) near the forks of the creek. In the map's left hand edge, at the end of Main street is a small bridge that spanned Ten Mile and crossed to what was long known ( even into the late 1940's ) as the Corbett's Mill section which included the old stone ( these days called the Yablonski ) house.
This bridge was an iron truss type with a plank floor and it lasted until sometime after 1939. My opinion is that this was the site of the original, and likely for a time the only bridged crossing of the creek. I say that because of the extensive industries worked at Corbetts Mill, including a grain mill, a sawmill, a distillery and even for a time an iron furnace, all dating far back to the turn of the 19th century and owned at different times by several of Clarksville's leading businessmen. The Corbetts Mill area was therefore, for decades, the important "industrial suburb" of Clarksville. Both of the north fork bridges are visible below in this pre 1919 photo of the northern end of town.
In 1918-1919 the railroad ( PRR, then the Chartiers Southern Railway ) built two bridges, one across each fork of Ten Mile for trains. Two piers beside the north fork span remain, obviously built to carry but a single track.. Later, at a time not yet determined , the railroad built the present larger bridges, capable of holding multiple tracks. Also built at this time was the bridge over the tracks for the Dry Tavern road.


Ida Mary Wortman Haftmann Collection

Clarksville was the site of the only iron furnace in Greene county. It was across the south fork of the creek and several sources state all traces were covered by the railroad embankment. The earliest reference to it is 1794 as a " forge and furnace." The Henry Heaton family originally owned the land and operated the furnace and it was next known as Greene Iron Works, Henry Heaton owning one sixth along with with Jesse Bowell, Ephraim Coleman and forgemen Lock West, James Young and Henry Gillock. It was sold to James Robinson in 1805. A small town was actually laid out on these two acres with 6 house lots laid out to the southwest of " main street ." The establishment was abandoned before 1820, but the stack was visible for some time after 1840. Another source says it was out of blast in 1810. It was also known, as time went on, as Mary Ann Furnace, Clarksville Furnace, Greene Forge and Robinson's Furnace. A newspaper from Uniontown, the Genius of Liberty & Fayette Advertiser, ran the following ad on Aug. 4, 1810:
VALUABLE PROPERTY FOR SALE... THE IRON WORKS... on Ten Mile Creek, late the property of Capt. James Robinson, adjoining the town of Clarksville... and not distant three miles from the Monongahela River... One Hundred Acres of land, Ore Bank... signed Samuel Harper, Agent, dated Greene County, July 23, 1810.......This from the Geological Survey of Pennsylvania 1876-8:
Data on the ores used at Clarksville Furnace, Clarksville, Greene Co.... under the Waynesburg Coal bed in Greene county, the shales contain very moderate quantities of ball ore. Some of it was once dug, at various points in Morgan township, for the old Clarksville furnace.......





















Map of Greene Iron Works courtesy of Greene County Historical Library


Author


This 2009 image shows the area of the Iron Furnace and town of Greene Iron Works, looking more or less southeast, the tracks and trestle are behind the trees in the background. The old 1800's original road to Dry Tavern wound up the hill from this point. The oldest residents recall that this area above was known as Furnace Hill. Now locally known as South Clarksville, it's main street is Robinson Avenue, named after the Robinson furnace family.

W.J. Rainey And The Clyde Mines

This is the river tipple at Fredericktown in the late 1920's, looking south. This was the original Clyde mine, opened in 1900.

image from Bower's Fredericktown 1790-1990

Coal came out of this slope portal and went directly to the river tipple as seen in this 1929 photo. Shown are 8-ton gathering locomotives, these gathered the coal cars from various working places in the mine and made up the long trains for the haulage locomotives to pull out of the mine.


The Clyde mines have had several owners over many years. The original ( 1900 ) Clyde Coal Company of Pittsburgh sold their Fredericktown mine to W. J. Rainey of Cleveland, Ohio in 1925. From that point it was a captive mine to Republic Steel. In Pitt Gas, the William Pitt mine had been operating since at least 1916. Owned by the Pitt Gas Coal Company, it was worked by the Trumbull Coal Co. from around 1920. The Rainey company bought it in 1929. They called it Clyde # 2 and enlarged the town of Pitt Gas with the construction of 84 brick and tile houses. The Clarksville Gas Coal Co. operated a mine at Clarksville starting around 1920. At some point in 1925 or later, Rainey bought it and this is what must have become Clyde # 3.
W.J. Rainey, active in the business since the 1880's, owned many large mines. By 1904 he owned 3,200 coke ovens employing 18,00 men. Some of these, with partner T. J. Wood, were operated as the Rainey - Wood Coke Company. Known as the Cleveland Coke King, he was Frick’s main competitor in the Connellsville district. His thousands of acres of coal rights were scattered over the tri-state area . When he died in 1919 he left a fortune worth about 40 million dollars ( equal to half a billion and more in todays dollars ). The company operated under that name for years afterward.

. This porcelain sign likely dates from the Rainey takeover. It's very plain but is one of my most favorite pieces in my modest collection. This is because my father and his father worked together as buddys at # 3 in Clarksville.

So under The Rainey's control, Clyde #1 was at Fredericktown, Clyde #2 was at Pitt Gas, Clyde #3 was at Clarksville. Emerald ( originally Edward Mine, 1921) at Chartiers was called by some Clyde #4 but was since the middle 1920's ( if not always ) owned by the Emerald Coal and Coke Co. ( Hillman ). It seems that Clyde #2 was connected underground with Emerald at least for a time. In 1944 when there was a fire at Emerald ( which took six lives ) causing that mine to be sealed , much of Clyde had to be closed temporarily. In this same year there were about 1260 men employed at the three Clyde mines.
Rainey later ( around 1948 ) sold all these to Hillman Coal and Coke Company. Later they were operated under the name of Republic Steel.
Through this period of time, most commercial coal mines in our area were owned by the same few big dogs, Carnegie, Hillman, Rainey , H.C. Frick, the Jones brothers and a very few others. The Mellons were involved in the Pittsburgh Coal Company and had been working with H.C.Frick since the late 1870's. The names , on paper, moved back and forth over the years. The coal at a certain place was Rainey's , but Emerald mined it, at some point Hillman bought the coal from Rainey, or from Emerald , or whoever, and then Hillman mined it.


Blasting Cap Token From Clyde # 2 in Pitt Gas, my collection



1925 Map from Monongahela Railway 1903-1993, Gratz and Arbogast

Aerial view of Pitt Gas and Clyde # 2. The coal wagons came out of the slope three at a time and crossed the creek on a bridge to where the railcars were loaded. It looks as though the loading of cars here had stopped by the time of this 1939 photo. Gone too, are the railroad yard tracks. The tall concrete pier from the tipple still remains today beside the modern road.



















This is Clyde #3 at Clarksville, looking south. The cars are marked for the Rainey-Wood Coke Company in this 1937 photo from the Mononghela Railway.














Aerial view of Clyde # 3 in 1939, tipple and cars underneath, the swinging bridge and the mine shop buildings. The slate dumps are behind the row of miners houses we called Shantytown. A mine track comes out of the tipple and curves around as it crosses over the Besco road and runs to the slate dumps south of the mine. Aerial images courtesy of Penn Pilot.




Clyde # 3 looking west, likely in the 1930's, photo courtesy Of Hoyle Family


2009 image by author

The Clyde # 3 site today, looking west. The swinging bridge is behind the photographer. The above tipple was in the center of this photo. The stables were to the left, near the underpass, against the track embankment. The piece of paved road in the foreground is part of the original road. To the left on this side of the old road were several frame houses that the company built for bachelor miners.

A very partial list of miners who worked in Clyde can be found here.

Memorial Service to Honor Robena Miners

A memorial service will be held Dec. 6 to honor the miners who died 46 years ago in an explosion at U.S. Steel Corp.'s Robena Mine. Local Union 1980 and UMWA District 2 are sponsoring the service to honor the 37 miners who died in one of Greene County's worst mining disasters. A buildup of methane gas exploded, killing 37 members of a continuous miner crew while they worked. "On that fateful day, their government failed them," said Edward D.Yankovich, international vice president of UMWA District 2 at the service in 2007. "It failed them because it did not adequately protect them. It failed because throughout all these tragedies there were no regulatory agencies." Many union officials cite the Robena disaster as one of the reasons behind the enactment of the 1969 Coal Mine Health and Safety Act. Unfortunately, it took seven years and another major mine explosion, one that killed 78 miners in Farmington, W.Va., in 1968, before the law was signed. "The Farmington mine explosion was covered on television and the whole nation saw that," Yankovich said. "People in California and Oregon, where there is no coal mining, saw what happens to coal miners and understood the pain and suffering we in Appalachia have known for centuries," he said. Yankovich said the federal government decided to act, finally, by creating the Mine Safety and Health Administration. "But then in 1976, the Scotia Mine in Kentucky blew up and the government said maybe regulations need to be stronger," he said. "But disasters continued to happen, and coal miners still die every day, from black lung and direct injury," he said. He pointed to the Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia and one at the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah. "It is up to us to change the future. It is up to us to bring this to light. It is up to us to elect an administration that sees our plight in a favorable way," he said.

On Saturday, December 6, the United Mine Workers of America will hold the memorial service at 11 a.m. at the Robena Monument on Route 21 in Monongahela Township, just west of Hatfield's Ferry Power Station. An account of this and other mine disasters in Greene County can be found here. Most of this was taken from a story by Jon Stevens of the Washington Pa. Observer-Reporter.

Yablonski Murders Not The First Tragic Incident At That Clarksville Home.

Most are aware of the murders of Jock Yablonski, his wife and daughter in Clarksville in 1969. Not as well known are the details of a dramatic scene took place in that same Clarksville house thirty years earlier. Years ago, my Aunt Rose Durdines Krencik ( she, and later I , grew up in a house just over the hill in the background ) told me a story of an event that was witnessed by her and many others. At the time the large stone two story home was a boarding house. She recalled a man staying there had become deranged and had barricaded himself in the home. A large crowd gathered on the road ( visible to the right in photo ) as State Police were called to resolve the situation. Soon after the officers entered the house, she remembered " shots were heard and soon the body of a dead trooper was carried out, dressed in a light colored uniform and his chest was covered with blood ". I had forgotten this story until I read a book , written in the 1940's, on the history of the Pennsylvania State Police . There I found mention of the story. The following is taken from the Pennsylvania State Police site.

At 3:35 p.m. on January 30, 1939, State Police Corporal Naughton ( pronounced Knock-ton ) , Privates Rittelmann and Fair, Washington County Detective Powell, and Sheriff Matt Armstrong responded to a call for assistance. While serving an arrest warrant on Frank Palanzo, Chief of Police William Morgan from Fredericktown was threatened by Palanzo. Palanzo had also threatened his family with a loaded gun. He was barricaded in a home located in a mining town in East Bethlehem Township, Washington County, near Clarksville. Palanzo threatened to shoot anyone who came near him. Corporal Naughton entered the three-story home and climbed the stairs to the second floor while calling for Palanzo to come out and talk it over. Palanzo opened the bedroom door where he was hiding, and shot Corporal Naughton at close range. Suffering a severe chest wound from a shotgun, Corporal Naughton fell face down to his death. Private Rittelmann carried Corporal Naughton from the landing. Reinforcements were summoned and the detail began hurling tear gas canisters into the house. Palanzo surrendered. He was tried for murder and drew a life sentence.
Pa. State Police photo

George Dewey Naughton was born January 12, 1899, at Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. He served in the US Army Medical Corps from September 28, 1917, to July 23, 1919, and saw service in England and France during World War I. At 21, Corporal Naughton enlisted in the Constabulary on November 1, 1926 and was assigned to Troop A, Greensburg. As a result of the State Police/Highway Patrol merger, he was reassigned to Troop B-1, Washington. Corporal Naughton was buried in Greenwood Cemetery near Sharpsburg. He was survived by his wife, Mrs. Mary E. Naughton, of Dormon. At 40, he had completed 12 years and 3 months of Pennsylvania Motor Police service.

Further information was found in the files of the Washington Observer-Reporter for Jan.6, 1970.
The brutal Murders of Joseph A. ( Jock ) Yablonski, his wife and daughter recalled an incident of nearly 31 years ago when a veteran State Police officer was murdered by a crazed gunman.The two story stone structure was a boarding house when officers were called there on Jan. 30, 1939. Frank Palanzo, 47, an unemployed coal miner had been causing considerable trouble. He had barricaded himself in a second story bedroom and refused to come out at the urging of authorities. At one point he stuck a shotgun out the window and threatened to shoot. Naughton, a 12 years veteran of the force entered the house and climbed the stairway leading to the second floor. He pleaded with Palanzo " lets talk it over ". The door opened and Naughton was blasted twice with shotgun fire. Paul Rittleman, who was later to become State Police Commander, risked his own life by entering the building to drag out the body of his superior officer. Palanzo withstood a barrage of tear gas for nearly 3 hours before surrendering. At the time of his arrest, Palanzo told police he had served with the Italian army in WW I. He was eventually incarcerated in Fairview, an institution for the criminally insane in northeast Pennsylvania.

Frank Palanzo at the time of his arrest, from an unidentified newspaper clipping, courtesy of Ida Mary Wortman Haftman


Several years ago, I had the opportunity to look around in this house. On the handrail , near the top of the staircase is a deep graze from a large caliber bullet. Officer Naughton, after being shot and as he fell, fired his revolver once, the bullet hit that railing, missing Palanzo . Palanzo then fired again ( a 12 guage shotgun ) , killing the trooper. Also visible, in what is now a crawl space, is a modern repair to the chimney about three feet off the floor. This is where the resourceful Palanzo, during the three hour tear gas barrage, picked the mortar out to be able to breath fresh air from the chimney. It was only after the officers put tear gas down the chimney that he finally surrendered. As he was brought out the back door of the house, the story is that in anger at the death of Naughton, one of the troopers fired a shot at him before being restrained by others. Near the door today one can see a gouge in the stone supposedly made by that bullet.

Helen Vogt, in her book Westward Of Ye Laurall Hills, talks of interviewing Jock Yablonski in early 1969. Jock remembered that while he was working in the Vesta mine at California Pa. in 1927, he was " jailed for some offense and miserably treated ( beaten ) by Naughton," and " the chagrin and bitterness stayed with him for many years." Soon after the killing of Naughton, out of curiosity, Jock went to the house, became fascinated with it and then bought it in 1943. He had a extensive renovations done ( including sandblasting the stone and carefully preserving the original floors under new wood flooring ) and moved his family into it in 1947.


The details of the murders of Jock, Margaret and Charlotte Yablonski are well known and will not be covered here at all. To a small degree, I knew all of those people personally so, in respect I will say that the United Mine Workers lost a fearless and dedicated leader and the Clarksville community lost several members of an accomplished family.

I am gathering information for a post on the house's varied history, which goes back to 1776 -78.

All images property of the author unless noted

Steamboat Gallery # 1

No steamboats ran regularly on Ten Mile but they ran right past and besides that ........ I love a steamboat. For about 80 years the easiest and cheapest way to get from Ten Mile Country to the big city ( Brownsville or Pittsburgh ) was to take the packet boat. There were actually only two choices, a mud road or the packet boat until the railroad was extended from Brownsville through Fredericktown to Rices Landing ( completed Jan.9,1908 ) and the branch to Besco, in late 1907. Many towboats and packets were seen every day from the banks and people knew them even at night by the distinctive sound of the whistle.
Here are just a few vessels that were very well known to people on our stretch of the Mon.

The Clyde Coal Co.'s very pretty towboat. Imaginatively, she was named CLYDE. This company had the mine of the same name in Fredericktown. Built at Rochester in 1903, she ran the Mon until 1930.


The Str. JAMES E. LOSE was one of many Carnegie Illinois Steel Co. boats. Later, these boats that ran locally (in the pools between the dams) were called pool boats , were operated under the U S Steel name and the " line haul boats ", which ran down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers became Ohio Barge Line ( 1941- 1985). When I started at OBL in the mid 1970's many of the Mates, Pilots and Captains that I worked with had been deckhands and Mates on these Carnegie Steel boats.
In 1945 there were as many steam sternwheel boats operating as there were diesel boats. In 1949 there were still 42 sternwheelers ( J&L alone had eleven of them ) running on the Allegheny Mon and upper Ohio. By 1953 there were 10, five owned by US Steel, Consol Coal and Crucible each still operated two and Ohio Barge Line still had one sternwheeler working. OBL 's last steamboat, a steam propeller vessel, ran until 1963. History is not that far behind us, just look over your shoulder and there it is.



This is the Str. La BELLE of the Wheeling Steel Corp. downbound at Fredericktown.



The CHARLES R. COX of US Steel downbound at Rices Landing. Her roof bell is now on display at the Monongahela River Buffs Museum


The Str. ADAM JACOBS at Brownsville in 1895. Owned by the Pittsburgh Brownsville & Geneva Packet Co. she regularly ran between these places. She was built at Brownsville in 1885.
This was one huge boat, over 200 feet long. Click on the pic and it will enlarge to actual size.......... just kidding.

The W.P.Snyder Jr. at Marietta

Fortunately for us there is a wonderfully preserved example of a Monongahela River towboat at Marietta Ohio. The Str. W.P. SNYDER JR. is docked there at the Ohio River Museum. The museum has a large and fine collection of river artifacts but their jewel is this vessel. She is exactly as she was in the old days and you can wander over her at your own pace and see how they lived and worked on the river on this Carnegie Illinois and later Crucible Steel owned boat. I'm glad they saved one of these unique vessels, she is the only surviving coal-fired, steam-powered sternwheeler towboat in the US not to mention the only pool boat. The smoke stacks on all the pool boats were made to be tilted back to clear low bridges and the pilot house was built on the forward end of the cabin rather than on top of the roof. They evolved to fit the needs of the river and locks in terms of power, size and draft. In the late 70's my wife and I first visited this boat at the museum. When I returned to work I was on the boat with Captain Leon Lyle of Pittsburgh, originally from Paducah, Ky. I had worked with him when he was a mate and he was of the old school and was as good a boatman as could be found on the river and I learned much from him. I was talking about how fascinating it was to visit the SNYDER. he said to me " I know that boat very well, I spent 10 years as Mate on her, just like you are Mate on here for me now. " For a complete description refer to her National Historic Landmark Nomination here.

Starboard Engine


The galley, not a lot of space to prepare food for 12 - 15 people.

The Str. W. P. SNYDER JR. was originally built as the Carnegie Steel Co. towboat W. H. CLINGERMAN in 1918 by Rees of Pittburgh, Pa. In 1938 she was renamed J. L. PERRY and in 1945 she was sold to Crucible Fuel Co. and again renamed as the W. P. SNYDER Jr. She towed coal on the Monongahela river for 35 years until she was laid up on September 23, 1953 at Crucible, Pa. In the summer of 1955 she was given to the Ohio Historical Society for exhibit at the Ohio River Museum of the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen in Marietta, Ohio.

East Millsboro

I think this town is certainly part of Ten Mile Country. This is the company store at East Millsboro around 1907. On the right is the Monongahela Railroad ticket and freight office and Adams Express Company. My father was born in in this town in 1912 where his father was a miner. Hustead - Semans Coal and Coke Co. was part of Fayette County's J. V. Thompson cartel. They started their mine at East Millsboro in 1903. A trade magazine in 1910 stated it was a slope mine with 8 1/2 feet thickness, was a machine and pick mine and had a daily capacity of 1000 tons. By 1905 the coke works had over 100 beehive ovens with 100 more planned. 150 Men were employed inside and out in 1913. In 1920 Hillman bought it, as they did so many other mines .


preceeding images collection of the author

A different view of the company store from a real photo post card dated 1911. That could likely be a mine animal in the foreground. Of interest is the free standing East Millsboro station sign in front of the building.


collection of Pittsburgh History And Landmarks

East Millsboro children enjoying the Hustead Mine river tipple. I like to think that one of those boys up there could be my father in his youth.These two piers remain at East Millsboro. Now both are in the river because of the raising of the pool due to Maxwell Lock.


image from Fredericktown Then And Now by Bower

A panoramic view of East Millsboro shows the Hustead Mine river tipple and the company store on the far right. This was taken around 1910-1915. Note the packet boat moving downriver at Millsboro.

Jefferson

Jefferson Main Street 1866









Likely near the covered bridge at the railroad underpass. W.T. Hays was a photographer from Waynesburg who did a lot of work around Greene County.



This old Post Office was across the street from the present one. Jefferson's first Post Office was established in 1805.


From the History Of Education in Pennsylvania by J. P. Wickersham, 1886 : In the little town of Jefferson, Greene county, the Baptists of Southwestern Pennsylvania founded an institution of learning, in 1867, which was chartered under the name of Monongahela College, in 1871. The grounds consist of fourteen acres, and the buildings are comfortable though small. The endowment is $30,- 00O. Creditable progress has been made in securing apparatus and a library. The College admits both sexes, and several ladies occupy places in its faculty. The students number about seventy- five, only a few of whom are in the regular College course. Rev. H. R. Craig has been President from the first.The college did not make it long as a business and folded in the 1890's. In 1909 the Jefferson High School moved into the building.It was torn down in 1956.

Clicking this image opens a nice large map from Caldwells Atlas 1876



List Of Business 1876








Jefferson looking south, undated photo

Jefferson at one time had around 700 citizens. There was a grain mill, several tanneries, saddle shops,cooper shops, wagon maker shops, five saloons. It was a busy distributing center for the country trade. The Jeffersonian and Jefferson News delivered the latest news. It was often spoken of as the best place for the county seat, being on the main road between Rices Landing and Waynesburg, the two most important towns in the county. Colonel James Maxwell, a very prominent officer in the Revolution, is buried in the Presbyterian cemetery. When slack water was carried above Rices Landing and the Waynesburg & Washington Railroad was built to Waynesburg then the importance of Jefferson waned.

Millsboro

This is an 1902 banknote from the First National Bank of Millsboro Pa. This bank went out of business in the early 1930's.

Harry Brockway's Livery Stable at Millsboro Pa. 

Millsboro in 1876 from Caldwells Atlas  

Millsboro's "taxable inhabitants" in 1859

George Bumgarner was the original patentee of the area now known as Millsboro, he applied in 1769 and it was granted in 1796. The town was laid out in 1809 and was, at first, a borough. In 1859 it had two stores, a foundry, three cooper shops, a public house, a steam grist mill, a saw mill, a cabinet and wagon manufactory, three churchs and 200 people.

This wooden crate once held 12 quarts of good Monongahela Whiskey made by the James Emery Distillery in Millsboro. The side reads " Established 1864 " though he was listed as a distiller as early as 1859. It was in 1867 that he erected a distillery just above the steamboat landing. It is believed to have stopped working in 1912. I was very excited to find this box years ago, it would probably be easier to find a bottle of the whiskey.




The Emery Distillery at the foot of Mill street in 1901, looking east.


image from W. Scott Bowers' Fredericktown Yesterday and Today